If you are having issues trying to get your Fluval E Series Electronic Aquarium Heater to work, then you may want to try cleaning the device. To find out how you can properly do so, you can follow the steps from this tutorial at Aquarium Blueprints.
It should be noted that this guide will cover the following versions of the E Series:
- Fluval E50 Advanced Electronic Aquarium Heater
- Fluval E100 Advanced Electronic Aquarium Heater
- Fluval E200 Advanced Electronic Aquarium Heater
- Fluval E300 Advanced Electronic Aquarium Heater
1. To begin, unplug the heater from the power outlet.
2. Next, you need to wait for at least 30 minutes. This duration should allow the heater to properly cool down inside of your fish tank. Otherwise, you will risk damaging this aquarium equipment once you expose it to air.
3. After at least half an hour has passed after you unplug the heater, remove the main heating unit from the suction bracket.
In order to do so, you need to squeeze the two release arms located near the top of your E50, E100, E200 or E300. The arms should have raised dots if you have a hard time locating them.
Once you squeeze both arms, slide the main heating unit off of the suction bracket.
4. You can then remove the main heating unit out of the tank water.
5. Next, you need to use a flat-head screwdriver to remove the heater guard.
Look for a secure lock tab near the top of the heater on its back side. Use the flat-head screwdriver to lift the heater guard loose. Afterwards, you can slide the guard off of the glass.
6. To clean the heater glass, gently wipe off any organic waste buildup and/or mineral deposits you see.
If you find that some dirty spots are too hard to remove, then you can soak the heat glass in vinegar. The acidity of this solution should help some of the harder dirt and deposits come off more easily.
If you decide to use vinegar, make sure you thoroughly rinse the heating glass of your E Series with tap water after you clean it. This is because you don’t want to have any vinegar in your tank water.
7. To clean the heater guard, we recommend running it through your sink faucet. You can also use other high pressure water methods to blast off any organic waste buildup and/or mineral deposits on all the openings.
A toothpick or cleaning brush can help with removing dirt from the openings as well.
8. Once you are done cleaning the E Series, reattach the heating guard.
9. Next, we recommend adding some dechlorinator to your tank water as you don’t want any chlorine or chloramine from your tap water to get in the aquarium.
10. Reattach the heater to the suction bracket.
11. You then need to wait for at least 20 minutes so that the heater can re-acclimate to the water temperature in your fish tank.
12. After at least 20 minutes have passed, you can plug the heater back into the power outlet.